“It was just sex, Mom. They weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, ”Lena answered gleefully, obviously enjoying my discomfort. “They were boinking buddies,”
Mom gasped. “What an awful thing to say, Lena. Meg isn’t that kind of girl. And our Adam wouldn’t be so crass.”Mom was such a prude.
“Marion, things are different these days. There’s nothing wrong with having a purely sexual relationship. It’s not like we waited until marriage.” Dad winked at my mom, and I wanted to crawl under the table.
Lena was laughing her ass off, the little traitor.
“Can we stop talking about this?” I groaned, wondering if I’d get away with running out the door and not stopping until I was miles away.
“No, we cannot. I’ve just learned my boy was dating, sorry, boinking, my best friend’s daughter, and it seems I was the last to know,” Mom huffed. Fucking hell, my mother just used the term ‘boinking.’ I had officially entered an alternate reality.
“We didn’t tell anyone, Mom.” Why was I having to assure my mother about my secret relationship? Damn Lena to hell.
“Your dad knew,” Mom sniffed.
“It doesn’t matter; it’s over with. Done. Finished. There’s nothing to talk about. So let’s move on.” I gripped my beer hard enough to break the glass.
“And he’s been a royal jerk for days. I’m guessing it didn’t end very well,” Lena said. I really wished she’d shut up already.
Mom’s irritation gave way to maternal concern. She sat down beside me at the table and put her hand on my arm. “What happened, sweetheart?”
I sighed. Avoiding the topic was clearly not going to work. Might as well unload everything. So I told my family, in abbreviated terms, what happened with Chelsea and Meg.
“Dude, that chick needs a muzzle,” Lena snarked.
Mom tutted sternly. “I never liked Chelsea. She always seemed so disingenuous.”
That was one way to put it.
“She’s not a problem anymore. I got a call from her attorney this morning, and she’s agreed to the terms of the divorce.”It was the one good thing that had come out of the shitty situation.
“Well, that’s good,” Mom said, patting my hand like I was still a kid.
“Then what’s the problem? It was all a mistake. Meg has to see that.” Lena took the food off the stove and started dumping it unceremoniously into bowls.
“I don’t know what Meg thinks. She won’t speak to me. And truthfully, I’m tired of her choosing to believe the worst in me all the time.”It was true, and it wasn’t. I was tired of it, but not enough to not be with her. I just didn’t think it was up to me to do anything about it.
Lena slammed the bowl down in front of me. “Men are such idiots,” she proclaimed.
“Huh?” I didn’t understand why she was so worked up. I expected Mom to chastise her, but instead, she nodded, agreeing with my volatile sister.
“They are. I had hoped I’d raised you better than to be an idiot, Adam.” Mom looked incredibly disappointed.
I turned to my dad. “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
Dad shook his head but wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Meg thinks you chose Chelsea over her once already,” Lena began.
“I told her that was bullshit. I already explained why I did what I did. I shouldn’t have to repeat it,” I protested.
Mom and Lena pursed their lips and glared at me in unison. I felt myself shrinking beneath their stares. Jesus, they were scary.
“Do you love her?” Mom asked bluntly.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. There were some things I’d always own up to, and loving Meghan Galloway was one of them.
“She wants you to choose her. She wants you to keep reminding her that she’s the one you want. We’re all a little insecure inside, and you have to make her see that she’s the one you’ve always wanted. The one you’ll always choose,” Lena informed me sagely.
“We all want to be swept off our feet. So go sweep that wonderful woman off her feet,” Mom said with a smile.
“And that will work?” I sounded so small. So scared. And I was. When it came to Meg, I was terrified. Terrified of losing her forever.
Mom put her hand over mine. “Some things are meant to be. And you and Meg are meant to be. I saw that when you were kids.”
“But what if it’s too late? What if she goes back to New York? What if—?”
“And what if the world ends tomorrow?Whatever. Man up, Adam. Go get her,” Lena snapped, clearly